


The diary of Simeon, in Gate of Finis

by Levirena



Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Headcanon, my favorite boss though he silenced my Cyrus so many times...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 03:31:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17994029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Levirena/pseuds/Levirena
Summary: **Major spoiler alert****Post game lore dump**Headcanon. What Simeon's diary would be like if there actually were one in Gate of Finis. (See end notes for more discussions of Simeon as a ch4 boss)And as always I'm not a native English speaker. Sorry for the mistakes I made.





	The diary of Simeon, in Gate of Finis

**\- From the Diary of Simeon, the Puppet Master -**

 

There is nothing to live for. There is nothing to die for. 

 

I was born. My father was dead. My half-brother started a war against me. I've seen too many times in theater the rivalry between brothers over the throne, and in this way life truly imitated art. I fought. I played my role well as the protagonist. Yet it all felt distant...the feeling of watching another actor fighting according to a cliche script. The moment when I killed that bastard son, I could almost see myself in a spotlight. Yet my brother had been a lame actor. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue[1]. Yes, yes that was the culmination, the ending of an old-fashioned story. Applause thou audience! For this play was going to end. 

 

It all ended. 

 

I was left nothing but the emptiness in my heart, if I ever had one. It was at that time when Lyblac found me and offered me the blessing of eternal life - or at least something close enough to that - in exchange of my help. By "help," she meant setting up a private force for her own ulterior cause. I was amused at first. What's good of a eternal life for a man who can't even enjoy his ephemeral one? Their is nothing to live for in this pathetic world, after all. But she didn't seem to be offended. Instead, she told me stories of men and women that  constructed remarkable comedies or tragedies. "The charm of theater art is concentration." She said, "The birth and death of a man, the begin and end of a romance, the rise and fall of an empire...all concentrated in one hour. Life is but the same, and you only need to live long enough to start appreciating it." It was the first time I ever felt a spark of passion, and she convinced me at that. 

 

As Lyblac had promised, by performing some simple duties I had infinite time and leaves at my disposal. Wouldn't that be like being manipulated, thou might ask? Yes, my friend. But who is not a manipulated puppet in this grand show called life? 

 

Later I met Mattias, another puppet of Lyblac and we were instructed to establish the private force she had spoken of. Mattias was, unlike me, passionate and motivated. Such is the wonder of faith, even an abandoned one. Obsidians we called ourselves, or the name I preferred, the Crow. The beautiful solemn creature on the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door, and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming.[2] Aesthetic, wasn't it? Mattias had an interesting characteristic that fascinated me for a while. I took inspiration from him to create the Mark of Crow - a romantic parody of religious rituals, although he was never aware of this fact and took my interest in him as the sign of distrust. But that hardly mattered. I had so much time to experience, and so many stories to appreciate. 

 

With the immeasurable wealth I built an amphitheater on the ruins of the forgotten Ventus Dynasty. Now people call the place "Everhold." Many years had been spent there before I was asked to investigate the House of Azelhart and to get rid of those who possessed the knowledge of Gate of Finis. It must have been the work of fate itself that I impulsively decided to play a gardener to get close to Geoffrey Azelhart. Looking back now, there were so many approaches to obtain the information I needed, but I chose the most impractical one out of no reason. This act of pure impulse led me to his daughter, Primrose Azelhart, the woman who would lower the curtain of my play in the days to come. 

 

Primrose. 

 

I knew at first sight of her that she would beget a truly marvelous tragedy. Therefore I treasured her and she did not fail me. The burden of inherited honor, the unexpected calamity of brutal fate, the pangs of despised love, the delayed delivery of justice, the oppressed dignity and proud...all concentrated on her. It almost made me jealous that she was playing her role so dedicatedly without the slightest doubt that all of these were meaningless and she was merely a dancing marionette. I was drawn to her. I wanted to dance with her.  In the end I planned the murder of Geoffrey Azelhart right in front of her, setting her off on a journey leading her back to me. I knew she would find me eventually. She was such a good girl that she would never let me down. 

 

Sure enough, having clipped my left wing and right wing, Primrose at last found the head of the Crow. It happened in my favorite place, with the right ambiance, orchestra, lighting and stage setting. I had indeed prepared some alternative endings, but she went for the best one. Would it be better if, like in my dumb script, she gave up her revenge and confessed her feeling for me? No. Of course not. The depth behind my death and her fulfilled revenge were beyond every play I've ever seen or participated. That was the climax, the end, the real art. 

 

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the lovely, hateful, consummate, regrettable play I presented to you. Did it attend to your thirsty for a true tragedy? For such is human's nature to be obsessed with crime, villainy, inner distortion, and darkness. Even without Lyblac's efforts, Galdera would've found a way to revive. Because each day, people are praying to him from the deepest of their hearts. 

 

And me? The show has ended, the curtains went down. I've taken the stage for too long; now is the time for eternal silence. 

 

Shhh. My shadowy friends. 

 

Quiet down. 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> [1] Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 2  
> [2] Edger Allan Poe, The Raven
> 
>  
> 
> Simeon is kind of special among all chapter 4 bosses, and I'm not talking about his 2 phases and ridiculously highest HP. (Quote my go-to JRPG Youtuber Nn Li: "A man sitting around on a theater chair all day has more HP than a dragon") Darius and Werner's motivation is power, Mattias's motivation is faith (or hatred toward the Chruch/Aelfric himself?), Lucia's motivation is knowledge. But Simeon didn't seems to have any motivations, nor did he seem to be regretful over his own death. He was even not that motivated in the boss fight, as in phase 1 he had a move "Simeon sits back and enjoys the show" which literally meant sitting there and doing nothing lol. This is the only boss in the entire game who didn't want to attack and kill you off asap. It's just so interesting to try to interpret his unique personalities.


End file.
